Collapsible garment rack



P 1955 H. CHARNIN 2,706,829

COLLAPSIBLE GARMENT RACK Filed May 16, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORJYym'auf/Earnzn April 26, 1955 CHARMN 2,706,829

COLLAPSIBLE GARMENT RACK Filed May 16, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V ENTOR. Hymczn Cfiarrzz'n United States Patent Gfiiice 2,706,829 PatentedApr. 26, 1955 COLLAPSIBLE GARMENT RACK Hyman Charnin, New York, N. Y.,assignor to Merchandise Presentation, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application May 16, 1950, Serial No. 162,354 2Claims. (Cl. 16-191) The present invention relates to improvements insupports, and more particularly to a foldable and collapsible garmentrack.

One object of the invention is to provide a garment rack which can beconveniently folded and stored when not in use, and can be quickly andeasily set up for use in various stores for supporting garments to bedisplayed.

Another object is to provide a folding garment rack of the portablefolding type which can be stored in a minimum amount of space indifferent rooms of a store such as small closets, stock rooms and thelike.

Another object is to provide a portable folding garment rack havingconsiderable strength to withstand excessive loads and which is pleasingin appearance so as not to distract from the garments being displayed.

Another object is to provide a portable folding garment rack which canbe easily moved to different locations in a store and positioned for usewhen it is desired to support a number of garments for display, and whenadditional hanging space is required other than the conventionalcabinets and built-in garment racks.

Another object is to provide a portable garment rack which is sturdy andstable by the provision of locking hinges for the pivoted legs which areprovided with relatively large, fiat bearing surfaces to support therack when in its operative position.

Another object is to provide a portable folding garment rack havinghinge members provided with mutually engaging friction surfaces toretain the rack in a closed position when folded and stored. Inaddition, the hinge members for the pivoted legs are provided withenlarged portions to provide mutually engaging abutment surfaces toprevent the legs from spreading when they are out folded.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description of the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the garment rack showing the crossedlegs extended and arranged for supporting garments on a pair ofhorizontal bars connectmg the upper ends of the crossed legs.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of one pair ofcrossed legs for the garment rack showing the mutually engaging abutmentsurfaces of the hinge members in contact for holding the crossed legs 1against further spreading.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view similar toFigure 2, but showing the crossed legs in a position of angulardisplacement when the legs are moved together or when the rack is bemgfolded.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sect1onal v ew taken on line 44 of Figures1 and 2, showing the hmge structure for the pivoted legs andillustrating the manner 1n whlch the legs are pivoted by means of atubular connectmg rod, and

Figure 5 is an exploded view in perspective of the hinge members whichare adapted to lock the legs in their operative position, but yet permitmovement thereof to a folded position.

In the drawings, and more in detail, there is shown for the purpose ofconvenience of illustration a garment rack in Figure 1, including a pairof crossed legs generally designated 5 and another pair of crossed legslikewise generally designated 6. Each pair of crossed legs 5 and 6includes legs 78 and 9-10 respectively, and as illustrated in Figure l,are slightly wider at the1r upper ends than their lower ends to providesufiicient rigidity from a point obliquely upward from their pivotpoints. The legs 7-8 and 910 are formed of wood or other material andthe lower ends are provided with metal foot members 11 having a pleasingfinish to enhance the appearance of the rack.

Each pair of legs 5 and 6 are provided with locking hinge plates (Figs.2 to 5 inclusive) and a pivot structure which is common to both pair oflegs 5 and 6. Since the structure is identical for both pair of legs, adescription of one locking hinge structure will sufiice.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive the hinge structure for the pair ofcrossed legs 6 will be described, and as illustrated a hinge plate 12 issecured to the leg 9 and is provided adjacent its corners with openings13 and intermediate openings 14 for receiving fastening screws 15(Figure 2) to affix the locking hinge plate 12 to the leg 9. Similarly,a locking hinge plate 16 is provided with openings 17 for receivingfastening elements such as screws or the like 18 (Figure 4). Each of thecooperating locking hinge plates 12 and 16 are provided with centralopenings 19 and 20 respectively which are adapted to be alined for thepassage of a pivot pintle bar which will be later described. Inaddition, each of the locking hinge plates 12 and 16 is provided withrelatively widened or enlarged vertical edge portions 21 and 22, theupper ends of which are triangularly shaped as at 23 and 24 to providemutually engaging abutment surfaces 25 and 26, (Figure 5 The remainingportion of each locking hinge plate 12 and 16 is provided with a flatsurface 27 and 28 which are adapted to be arranged in sliding contactwith the respective enlarged portions 21 and 22 to provide mutuallyengaging friction surfaces having relatively large areas such that whenthe plates are held together in contacting engagement the crossed legsmay be held in a folded position solely by the frictional contact. Thisis accomplished solely by the contact of the surfaces 21-28 and 2227.

After the locking plates 12 and 16 have been secured to the respectivepairs of legs 5 and 6, a tubular through rod 30 is passed therethroughand projects through openings 31 and 32 in the crossed legs 9 and 10(Figure 4), and in addition projects throught the alined openings 19 and20 in the pair of locking hinge plates 12 and 15. The outer ends of thethrough rod 30 are each provided with plugs 33 having internally screwthreaded bores 34 for receiving a threaded fastener such as a bolt 35having a hexagonal head 36 (Figure 4), it being understood that bothends of the tubular through rod 30 are identical in construction, andhence a description of one end will suffice for both as in the case ofthe hinge plates 12 and 16. As shown in Figure 4, a cup-shaped cover 37is provided for enclosing the end of the hexagonal bolt 36, and thisaccomplished by welding or otherwise securing a machine screw 38 to theinner surface of the cap 37, and providing the hexagonal bolt head 36with a correspondingly threaded internal central bore so that themachine screw 38 will anchor the cap 37 in place. A washer 39 isinterposed between the crossed leg 10 and the bolt head 36dtg0preventdisplacement axially of the tubular through to Mounted on the tubularthrough rod 30 and concentric therewith is a spacing rod 40 which islikewise tubular and has its ends terminating a distance from the end ofthe tubular through rod 30 equal to the width of the crossed legs 9 and10 plus the thickness of the hinge plates 12 and 16. The tubular spacingrod 44) is provided with an outer covering 41 of plastic material suchas synthetic resin composition and an enlarged washer 42 is disposedbetween the inner legs 7 and 9 of the garment rack and the tubularspacing rod 40. The tubular spacing rod 40 is rigidly secured to thetubular through rod 30 by means of a pair of telescoped threadedfasteners including male and female screws 43 and 44 which extendthrough alined diametral openings 45 and 46 in the tubular through rod30 and spacing rod 40 respectively. The male screw 43 is provided with athreaded end 47 and the female threaded fastener is provided with anaxially extending internally threaded bore, the threads of whichcorrespond to the threads of the male member as at 47.

The upper ends of the crossed legs 5 and 6 are provided with horizontalsupporting bars 48 and 49 (Figure 1) which connect respective legs 7 and9 of the crossed legs and 6 and the legs 8 and of the crossed legs 5 and6 respectively. The horizontal bars 48 are formed in substantially thesame manner as the pivot bar and spacing tubular rod 3%. andrespectively, and likewise are held in place by fastening assemblies ateach end thereof including a plug 33, threaded fastener or bolt 35, cap37 and washer 39.

It will readily be understood, that the mutually engaging abutmentsurfaces 25 and 26 prevent the crossed legs 5 and 6 from spreading apartwhen the garment rack is extended for use, and in order to limit theirswinging movement relative one to the other in an opposite direction theopposed surfaces and 51 formed by the enlarged portions 21 and 22 of thelocking hinge plates 12 and 16 provide additional abutment surfaces forholding the legs in parallel relation one to the other when the rack isfolded. The legs 7 and 9 of each crossed pair 5 and 6 may be shorterthan the legs 8 and 10 of the respective crossed pairs of legs 5 and 6to permit the rack to be folded so that the legs 7 and 8 are inoverlapping relation, and the legs 9 and 10 likewise in overlappingrelation.

In operation, the legs are extended as shown in Figure 1, and in thisposition they are limited against spreading movement by engagement ofthe opposed abutment surfaces 25 and 26. Garments on coat hangers orother supports may be suspended from the horizontal rods 48 and 49 whilethe device is in use. When the garment rack is to be folded the crossedlegs 5 and 6 are moved to a position in which the legs 78 and 9-10 areoverlapped, and in this position, the opposed mutually engaging abutmentshoulders 50 and 51 prevent the movement of the legs in an oppositedirection. The frictional contacting surfaces 2128 and 22-27 prevent therack from becoming unintentionally extended when the same is folded andstored in a closet or other storeroom.

It is to be understood, that the form of the invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment thereof and thatvarious may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionor the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A pair of plates arranged in abutting relationship and each having acylindrical hole perpendicular to the plane of the plates, a pivot pinextending through said holes, the abutting faces of each plate beingidentical and comprising a first and second surface parallel to eachother and in different planes, said first surface forming a face on aprotrusion extending from .said second surface, two straight shouldersperpendicular to and connecting said surfaces, each shoulder radiatingfrom the edge of said hole and in alignment with the geometric centerthereof, the first surface encompassing an angle between degrees anddegrees between said shoulders with respect to the geometric center ofsaid hole, and said first surface of Gilt? plate engaging the secondsurface of the other p ate.

2. A pair of plates as recited in claim 1, provided with spaced openingsin the first and second of said surfaces extending through said plates,and adapted to receive attaching members for said plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS156,325 Alston Oct. 27, 1874 329,150 Eaton Oct. 27, 1885 732,158Bicknell June 30, 1903 930,394 Le Bourgeois Aug. 10, 1909 1,116,511Sterzing Nov. 10, 1914 1,460,928 Tilden July 3, 1923 1,685,925 Linck eta1. Oct. 2, 1928 2,500,829 Jacobson Mar. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,273Great Britain Sept. 14, 1895 289,366 Great Britain Apr. 26, 1928

